Recent Developments
| Date | 01 September 2018 |
9-2018 NEWS & ANALYSIS 48 ELR 10837
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
In the Congress
“In the Congress” entries cover activities reported in the Congressional Record from July 1, 2018, through July 31, 2018.
Entries are arranged by bil l number, with Senate bills listed rst. “In the Congress” covers all environment-related bills that
are introduced, reported out of committee, passed by either house, or signed by the president. “In the Congress” also covers
all environmental treaties ratied by the Senate. is material is updated monthly. For archived materials, visit http://elr.
info/legislative/congressional-update/archive.
Public Law
H.R. 219 (energy), which corrects the
Swan Lake hydroelectr ic project survey
boundary and provides for t he convey-
ance of the remaining t ract of land
within the corrected su rvey boundar y
to the state of Alask a, was signed into
law by President Trump on July 20,
2018. Pub. L. No. 115-200, 164 Cong.
Rec. D785 (daily ed. July 23, 2018).
Chamber Action
S. 490 (energy), which would reinstate
and extend the deadli ne for commence-
ment of construction of a hydroelectric
project involving the Gibson Dam, was
passed by the House. 164 Cong. Rec.
H6226 (daily ed. July 16, 2018).
S. 756 (water), which would reautho-
rize and amend the Ma rine Debris
Act to promote international action to
reduce marine debris, was pa ssed by the
House. 164 Cong. Rec. H7640 (daily
ed. July 25, 2018).
S. 2503 (energy), which would estab-
lish DOE policy for science and energy
research and development programs,
and reform national laboratory ma n-
agement and technology tra nsfer pro-
grams, was pa ssed by the Senate. 164
Cong. Rec. S5219 (daily ed. July 23,
2018).
S. 2850 (water), which would amend
the White Mountain Apache Tribe
(WM AT) Water Rights Quantic a-
tion Act of 2010 to clarify the use of
amounts in the WM AT Settlement
Fund, was passed by the House, 164
Cong. Rec. H6629 (daily ed. July 23,
2018), and the Senate, 164 Cong. Rec.
S5074 (daily ed. July 18, 2018).
H.R. 200 (wild life), which would
amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act to
provide exibility for shery ma nagers
and stability for shermen, was pa ssed
by the House. 164 Cong. Rec. H6069
(daily ed. July 11, 2018).
H.R. 519 (water), which would amend
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
to facilitate water leasing a nd water
transfers to promote conservation and
eciency, was passed by the House.
164 Cong. Rec. H7110 (daily ed. July
24, 2018).
H.R. 589 (energy), which would es-
tablish DOE policy for science and
energy research a nd development pro-
grams, and reform nationa l laboratory
management and technology transfer
programs, was passed by the Senate.
164 Cong. Rec. S5219 (daily ed. July
23, 2018).
H.R. 2075 (land u se), which would
adjust the eastern boundary of the De-
schutes Canyon-Steelhead Fal ls Wilder-
ness Study Area in the state of Oregon
to facilitate re prevention and response
activities in order to protect adjacent
private property, was passed by the
House. 164 Cong. Rec. H6067 (daily
ed. July 11, 2018).
H.R. 2630 (land use), which would
authorize the Secretar y of the Interior
to convey certain la nd to La Paz Coun-
ty, Arizona, was pa ssed by the House.
164 Cong. Rec. H6621 (daily ed. July
23, 2018).
H.R. 3045 (la nd use), which would
amend the National Trails System Act
to extend the Lewis a nd Clark Na-
tional Historic Trail, was passed by t he
House. 164 Cong. Rec. H6624 (daily
ed. July 23, 2018).
H.R. 3777 (la nd use), which would
direct the Secreta ry of Agriculture to
convey certain National Forest Sys-
tem land containing the Nephi Work
Center in Juab County, Utah, to Juab
County, was passed by the House. 164
Cong. Rec. H6339 (daily ed. July 17,
2018).
H.R. 3906 (water), which would estab-
lish centers of excellence for innovative
stormwater control infrast ructure, was
passed by the House. 164 Cong. Rec.
H6219 (daily ed. July 16, 2018).
H.R. 4032 (land u se), which would
conrm undocumented federal rights-
of-way or easements on the Gila River
Indian Reser vation, clarify t he north-
ern boundary of the Gila River Indian
Community’s Reservation, and ta ke
certain la nd located in Maricopa Coun-
ty and Pinal County, Arizona, into
trust for the benet of the Gila R iver
Indian Community, was pass ed by the
House. 164 Cong. Rec. H6340 (daily
ed. July 17, 2018).
H.R . 4528 (wil dlife), which would
make technica l amendments to certain
marine sh conser vation statutes, was
passed by the Senate. 164 Cong. Rec.
S5437 (daily ed. July 26, 2018).
H.R. 4645 (water), which would
amend the Wild and Scenic R ivers Act
to designate certai n segments of East
Rosebud Creek in Carbon County,
Montana, as components of the Wild
Copyright © 2018 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
48 ELR 10838 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 9-2018
and Scenic Rivers System, was passed
by the House, 164 Cong. Rec. H6337
(daily ed. July 17, 2018), and the Sen-
ate, 164 Cong. Rec. S5390 (daily ed.
July 25, 2018).
H.R. 4819 (wildlife), which would
promote inclusive economic growth
through conservation and biodiversity
programs that facilitate transbounda ry
cooperation, improve natural resource
management, and build loca l capac-
ity to protect and preserve threatened
wildlife species in the greater Okavango
River Basin of southern Africa, was
passed by the House. 164 Cong. Rec.
H6312 (daily ed. July 17, 2018).
H.R. 4881 (land u se), which would
require the Federal Communications
Commission to establish a ta sk force for
meeting the connectiv ity and technol-
ogy needs of precision agricu lture in
the United States, was passed by t he
House. 164 Cong. Rec. H6595 (daily
ed. July 23, 2018).
H.R. 5613 (land use), which would
designate the Quind aro Townsite in
Kansas Cit y, Kansas, as a National
Historic Landmark, wa s passed by the
House. 164 Cong. Rec. H6630 (daily
ed. July 23, 2018).
H.R. 5846 (water), which would re-
quire the Comptroller General of the
United States to conduct a study re-
garding the buyout practices of FEMA,
was passed by the House. 164 Cong.
Rec. H6224 (daily ed. July 16, 2018).
H.R. 5875 (wildli fe), which would
amend the Pittman-Robertson Wild life
Restoration Act and the Dingel l-John-
son Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restora-
tion Act, provide parity for U.S. ter-
ritories and the District of Columbia,
and make technic al corrections to such
Acts and related laws, wa s passed by the
House. 164 Cong. Rec. H6625 (daily
ed. July 23, 2018).
H.R. 5979 (land u se), which would
establish the Mil l Springs Battleeld
National Monument in the state of
Kentucky as a unit of the National Park
System, was passed by the House. 164
Cong. Rec. H6627 (daily ed. July 23,
2018).
H.R. 6147 (governance), which would
make appropriations for DOI, EPA,
and related agencies for the sca l year
ending September 30, 2019, was passed
by the House. 164 Cong. Rec. H6569
(daily ed. July 19, 2018).
H. Con. Res. 119 (energy), which
would express the sense of Congres s
that a carbon ta x would be detrimenta l
to the U.S. economy, was agreed to
by the House. 164 Cong. Rec. H6563
(daily ed. July 19, 2018).
H. Res. 996 (g overnance), which
would provide for further consideration
of H.R. 6147, was agreed to by the
House. 164 Cong. Rec. H6274 (daily
ed. July 17, 2018).
H. Res. 1001 (energy), which would
provide for further consideration of
H. Con. Res. 119, which expresses
the sense of Congress that a c arbon
tax would be detrimenta l to the U.S.
economy, was agreed to by the House.
164 Cong. Rec. H6478 (daily ed. July
18, 2 018).
Committee Action
S. 436 (land us e) was reported by the
Committee on Energy and Natu ral
Resources. 164 Cong. Rec. S5455
(daily ed. July 30, 2018). e bill would
authorize the Secretar y of the Interior
to retire coal preference right lease ap-
plications for which the Secretary has
made an armat ive commercial quan-
tities determination, substitute certain
land selections of the Navajo Nation,
and designate cert ain wilderness a reas.
S. 612 (land use) was reported by the
Committee on Energy and Natu ral
Resources. S. Rep. No. 115-306, 164
Cong. Rec. S5130 (daily ed. July 23,
2018). e bill would provide for the
unencumbering of title to nonfederal
land owned by the city of Tucson,
Arizona, for purposes of economic de-
velopment by conveyance of the federal
reversionary interest to the city.
S. 1023 (governance) was reporte d by
the Committee on Foreign Relations.
164 Cong. Rec. S5455 (daily ed. July
30, 2018). e bill would reauthorize
the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of
1998 through scal year 2021.
S. 1030 (energy) was reported by the
Committee on Energy and Natu ral
Resources. S. Rep. No. 115-310, 164
Cong. Rec. S5455 (daily ed. July 31,
2018). e bill would require FERC to
submit to Congress a report on certai n
hydropower projects.
S. 1142 (energy) was reported by the
Committee on Energy and Natu ral
Resources. S. Rep. No. 115-311, 164
Cong. Rec. S5455 (daily ed. July 31,
2018). e bill would extend the dead-
line for commencement of construction
of certai n hydroelectric projects.
S. 1459 (land use) was reported by
the Committee on Energy a nd Natural
Resources. S. Rep. No. 115-295, 164
Cong. Rec. S4916 (daily ed. July 11,
2018). e bill would establish Fort
Sumter and Fort Moultrie National
Park in the state of South Carolina.
S. 1573 (land use) was reported by
the Committee on Energy a nd Natural
Resources. S. Rep. No. 115-301, 164
Cong. Rec. S4965 (daily ed. July 16,
2018). e bill would authorize the Sec-
retary of the Interior and the Secretary
of Agriculture to place sig nage on fed-
eral land along the tr ail known as t he
“American Discover y Trail.”
S. 2102 (land use) was reported by
the Committee on Energy a nd Natu-
ral Resources. 164 Cong. Rec . S5455
(daily ed. July 30, 2018). e bill would
clarify t he boundar y of Acadia Na-
tiona l Park.
S. 2511 (water) was reported by the
Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation. S. Rep. No. 115-
291, 164 Cong. Rec. S4843 (dai ly ed.
July 9, 2018). e bill would require
the Under Secretary of Commerce for
Oceans and Atmosphere to ca rry out
a program on coordinating t he assess-
ment and acquisition by NOAA of un-
manned maritime systems, and make
available to the public data collected by
NOAA using such system s.
S. 2717 (water) was reported by the
Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation. S. Rep. No. 115-
292, 164 Cong. Rec. S4843 (daily ed.
Copyright © 2018 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
To continue reading
Request your trial